Public Service Announcement: Your dog and pot. Just say no.

Yeah. I’ll bet you have lots of questions- the main one being, “Marni, what the HELL are you talking about?”

So, here’s my story. Wednesday was a beautiful day. I decided to go for a run when I got home- just a quick 3 miles. As usual, I took Indy with me. He loves a good run…usually. However, I noticed that he was a bit slower than usual. I didn’t think too much of it, since he’s been getting lots of exercise lately. By the beginning of mile 2, he was really dragging. By the time we got home, I was getting really worried. I tried to give him water, but he just kind of slumped down into the water dish. At this point I was well and truly panicked, as was Patrick. He decided to take Indy to the emergency vet while I stayed with the kids.

After about an hour, he called me. They were doing lots of tests but still weren’t sure what was wrong. Indy had a low-grade fever, was agitated, and was drooling. He also couldn’t seem to control his bladder. At that point, the vet recommended having him stay there for overnight care, fluids, and further testing.

Patrick came home and I spoke to the vet about an hour after that. She reviewed his lab work, which all looked pretty normal. She then said to me, “This is a bit awkward to ask, but is there any possibility that Indy could have gotten into some marijuana?”

My initial response was a sound that was somewhere in between a snort, a choke, and a laugh of disbelief. Here’s the thing. Those of you that are my patients, I’m sure, hope that I am a totally drug-free person. Well, you can rest assured. Those of you who know me on a personal basis can attest to the fact that I am one of the most straight-laced, boring people out there. I’ve never smoked pot, or even a cigarette. My good friends will tell you that the idea itself is laughable.

I turned to Patrick and asked him, “Hey, do you think any of the neighbors are growing pot?” His response was similar to mine. I asked the vet why she was asking this. She informed me that Indy’s presentation was really classic for marijuana ingestion.

I thought about it some more. Here’s the thing. Indy spends a lot of time outside in the summer. We live at the end of a nice, quiet cul-de-sac, and we do let him run around off leash. He also gets to go to the beach and run around off leash there. Like all labs, he has an unfortunate habit of eating anything that doesn’t eat him first. He once ate a 10 lb. bag of kibble. He also ate some of my underwear. So, in truth, it’s entirely possible that my dog could have gotten into someone’s stash, or at least ate a discarded joint.

Luckily, marijuana ingestion is rarely fatal for dogs, but it can make then quite sick. I’m happy to report that Indy recovered well with IV fluids and some sedatives, and he’s now back to his normal self.

I’m still smarting over the fact that my stoned dog cost me over $1000.

4 thoughts on “Public Service Announcement: Your dog and pot. Just say no.”

Oh man, Labs…. I just had a similar bill, due to Bloat, because my Lab can't stop eating our cat's poop and the surrounding dirt it is in. Disgusting and apparently expensive. She's eaten a lot of things but Pot is not something I ever thought of!